I'm going to help!

“Yeah, I can do it.” You tell them.

Most of the tension breaks in the room. McKinley smiles and nods. “I can’t express my gratitude enough, stranger.”

“Well, actually you can. I’ll be expecting my reward to be much greater now. And this year-long contract with your outfit better get me where I want to be next year.” You say, with a slight tinge of guilt. “This is my living.”

Scarlet clears her throat. When you look at her, you notice she’s glancing over at Kenji. She turns her eyes down and then slowly looks back at you. The dark blue color of her eyes has little to no emotion behind it. She’s had a hard couple of days, and you probably didn’t refuel any of her faith in the remnants of humanity.

“What time are you dispersing?”

McKinley, being the voice for the group, speaks again. “Around noon. No later than that.”

“I’ll get my gear put together then.”

He nods, and so do the others. “Can we, or uh, can I help at all?”

“Probably not, but I guess I could get to know you all better while I am here…”

You stick around for a little while longer, packing and sorting everything you need. You’ll just leave the leftovers for the tavern to use. You’re sure they’ll take it and sell it off once spring comes next year. You learn McKinley is married; apparently, his wife shares his trade and should be in Dead Wood too. She’s (should have) been there since the beginning of the month. She doesn’t have a clue what’s happened to him, but has more than likely heard this caravan was hit. He wants to hurry, but understands that not everything can be done so soon.

Knowing that the day ahead of you is going to be long, you make sure to spend it doing mostly nothing after you finish packing your gear and other personal items. You thought about talking to the others, but decided that you’d get to know them better along the way. Until then, it was in your best interest to hit the sack and sleep.

…

…

As promised, around noon, McKinley and the rest of his leftover “unit” started to leave. You were hoping to run into Delilah one last time, but she was nowhere to be seen. You stopped on the way out to talk to a maid you saw somewhat frequently; she had dirty blonde hair and a brilliant shade of green for her eyes. You weren’t distracted for a moment though; you were leaving a message for someone you had grown fairly close to. You asked her to tell Delilah you were leaving and that she wouldn’t see you until perhaps next spring. The girl you told this to seemed to be a little disappointed too. However, she agreed she’d tell her your message before wishing you a safe trip. That said, it didn’t really feel like you were in any kind of danger this late into the month...that’s probably what McKinley’s group thought too before they were utterly fucked in the woods.

Unlike other times when you had borrowed the town’s horses, you had to buy them for keeps this time. Horses weren’t cheap, and the town had gradually increased the prices of their steeds the closer it got to winter. You had to get a minimum of 4 horses for your new hastily pieced-together team. You were happy to keep spending money at first, but when you did the math, you realized this was going to be an expensive trip. You half-grudgingly bought the horses and cherry-picked your favorite while giving the last three to the others. While you loaded your horses with equipment, you noticed that they all seemed to be fairly familiar with this. Getting attacked by literally anything wasn’t ideal during your journey, but knowing that this was common practice for almost every member of this party gave you some kind of comfort. Your packing was finished within just a few minutes, and everyone asked each other if they were all good to go. McKinley looked at you, so you silently started the journey towards Dead Wood.

After mounting your horse, the others trailed behind you for a while. You could hear them talking. Light conversation took place just as you started to break from the forest that concealed Tiny’s Tavern and the town it was in. You were alone for the most part, which was fine by you. The more focused you were, the better you felt. Traveling this far north always kinda made you feel like you were being watched from every bush and behind every tree.

Your horses trotted on a well-used road. Trash and other litter lay on the sides. Your eyes fixed on the horizon surrounding you and the road ahead. A lot of war was happening over the summer; it’s hard to believe this road wasn’t any more torn up by conflict or had more signs of battle. You guess it’s common etiquette not to ruin the road you are trying to control.

Before you can spill too far into your thoughts of last Spring and Summer, you hear that someone from your group is getting closer. At first, you were sure it was going to be McKinley, but as you checked your side, you noticed it was the girl instead. It was Scarlet.

“Hey there,” she said casually. “How are you doing?”

“Fine. How about you?”

She doesn’t answer your follow-up. You guess that was a little bit of a stupid question to ask considering where she was last night. Nonetheless, she continued to thank you. “I haven’t had the chance to really talk to you alone...I just wanted to thank you for helping McKinley get Kenji and me out of there last night. It...well, I remember my debts, and I’m afraid I owe you a lot.”

“Ah, you don’t owe me anything. It was a contract.”

She guides her black horse closer, and her voice lowers. “No, no. I do owe you. I’m a little thin on what I can offer you financially, but I might have some access to something you’d like to have.”

You know she isn’t talking about her body. When you look over at her, you notice she has the expression of a salesperson. “What do you mean?”

She glances behind her shoulder and sighs. “If you’re really interested, I suggest you either talk to me or Kenji… McKinley probably couldn’t help...You deserve something in return for helping out. I mean it, okay? Thanks. I wouldn’t have left that basement alive if you didn’t try to help.”

Scarlet slows down to join the others. Your mind goes back to the situation at hand. You’re on point in a not-so-friendly environment. Though it’s tempting to linger on your short conversation with Scarlet, you need to stay frosty.